Braves left-hander Tyler Matzek, who was left off the NLDS roster due to elbow discomfort, is undergoing Tommy John surgery today, manager Brian Snitker announced to reporters (Twitter link via Jeff Schultz of The Athletic). Given the timing of the surgery, Matzek will likely miss the entire 2023 season as well.
There’s never really a good time for a baseball player to undergo go Tommy John and then have to spend 12-18 months recovering, but the timing here is especially unfortunate for both Matzek and the team. After winning a fifth-straight NL East crown, the club just began its postseason run yesterday, leaving Matzek off the roster. Now that the prognosis is known, Matzek can be ruled out of the entire playoff run and then some.
2022 was his third season with Atlanta after a lengthy absence due to “the yips.” He pitched for the Rockies in 2014 and 2015 but then dealt with control problems so bad that he was relegated to the minors for chunks of the 2016-2019 period, including missing the 2017 season entirely and pitching in indy ball in 2018. He eventually made his way back to the majors and established himself as a useful piece of the Atlanta bullpen. From 2020 to the present, he’s thrown 135 2/3 innings with a 2.92 ERA, 38.2% ground ball rate and 27.4% strikeout rate, despite a high 13.4% walk rate.
In addition to that strong work in the regular season, Matzek has shown a knack for taking things up a notch in the playoffs. In 2020, he threw 8 2/3 innings with a 1.04 ERA and followed that up with a 1.72 mark in 15 2/3 frames last year, playing a big role in helping Atlanta grab their first World Series title since 1995. Unfortunately, he won’t get a chance to build on his track record of postseason heroics here in 2022. Without Matzek, the club will charge ahead in their attempt to repeat as champions with A.J. Minter and Dylan Lee as their only lefty relievers.
Looking ahead to next year, Matzek, who turns 32 next week, is eligible for arbitration again after earning $1.4MM here in 2022. He will be due a raise for 2023, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting his salary to come in around $1.8MM. The team could consider not tendering Matzek a contract since he likely won’t be able to contribute at all in 2023. However, if they did tender him a contract, they would still be able to control him for 2024. Since Matzek will likely miss the entire season, he wouldn’t be able to push his 2024 salary much beyond his 2023 number, if at all. Players who are free agents but about to embark on a significant absence will often sign two-year deals with the signing club aware they won’t see a return on their investment until the second half of the deal, and Matzek’s final two arb years could effectively function in that way if the Atlanta front office considers him worth the gamble.
Mickey Mouse Arm
What? Pitchers get TJ surgery all the time.
Brutal. For those wondering he has two more years of team control. Arb 3 and 4 years in 2023 and 2024
That takes him until he can pitch again. I guess they pay him to pitch for someone else in three years.
Typical 6986. Has no idea that typical TJS recovery time is 12-14 months.
It takes two years to get back to what you were. Studies have been done and the actual average return time is 20 months.
This is a pretty big blow to the Atlanta relief corps, especially for October baseball. Matzek has been nasty, flat nasty in the post season for them
Ughhh, terrible for this guy. Extra workload last year didn’t help. Get better Tyler.
It’s very tough to repeat, folks
Off-topic: I know Trade Rumors ownership/management can’t fully control the ads which run on the app, but the video ones which cancel out audio (music; podcasts) concurrently streaming from other apps are irritating.
It makes me use this app less.
For all we know those ads pay them the most. I would understand in that situation.
I’ve not experienced a video ad yet… you must be lucky?
Why don’t you pay for the service this site provides before complaining about it?
Indeed it is hard. Honestly I didn’t expect them to get it last year. This year with the workload to win it all in 21 I expected players to be hurt and some regression. Playing that long and what it took to do it takes a toll. However, yesterday’s loss was about the Phils executing and they played clean baseball. Braves didn’t do that even with Fried not being himself. No excuses just facts. Win with class and loss with that same class!
Agree nc. The Phils played fired up baseball. Our Braves didn’t. They deserve to advance. Good luck to them and their fans.
That sucks after everything he already had to go through.
Make millions?
This is his first season making more than 800k
Metsfan22, you never fail to fail.
You get more useless with every comment
Bro… did you not read the part where it said he missed all of 2017 then played indy ball in 2018 to make it to the show after shwoing up then having massive control issues in 2016? He’s delt with the yipz too? Wish I could struggle for that long to finally make 800k in a year to have some dip stick say some ignorant garbage about how I make millions…. that was 7 years ago lol what a fool
We expect no less from 22 and books. Typical no class Mets trolls. What kind of jerk takes joy in seeing another injured? Answer: The jealous, no class, miserable kind……….
‘Tis the season.
I could see AA going after Taylor Rogers during the off-season. Lefty in the back of the bullpen with success as a closer.
Other lefties MInter, Lee…focus should be on RH’ers. Day, Jackson, Chavez, and Jansen gone after this season. Either way bullpen will look much different next year.
If he had only received a copy of Grays Sports Almanac from the future, he could have avoided this!
It only ran through 2015, Biff. Wouldn’t have helped in this instance
Damn! That’s because the Astros stole it from the production and used it in 2017
Tough break for Matzek and a big blow to the Braves, not only for the rest of this postseason but next season as well
He hasn’t been anything like he was during last season’s World Series run. He hasn’t been used in many high leverage situations when he’s been healthy enough to pitch. If they’re ahead after 5 and the starter isn’t throwing great they’ll go McHugh, Minter, Iglesias, Jansen – Matzek wasn’t getting any of those innings.
“Useful piece”
3.6MM for a one year deal post TJ essentially.
Not sure they’ll do it. They do at least have FA’s coming off the 40 man and not a terribly strong farm to protect but could be the last we see of him in ATL.
I could see them giving him a two-year contract, at or below $1M for next year and around $1.5M in 2024. He’d do his rehab through the team and be ready for 2024.
He won’t be ready for 2024.
Seventeen months before pitchers and catchers report. He could be ready.
Hopefully for him he is but it usually takes two years too get back to what you were.
Cardinals cut bait with Trevor Rosenthal when a similar situation happened
Beats Tommy John having Tyler Matzek surgery
I wish this could happen, but only because it means someone figured out time travel
Hate to say it… but he looked rough this year, he won’t be back until he’s almost 34 right? And he’s put on some lbs in less than a year. Might be time to let him go. That said, he’s earned way more than he’s been paid, so I hope the Braves do the right thing for the right reason and pay/rehab him. But wouldn’t shock me if they let him roll. Maybe the just renegotiate a contract with him for a lower contract this year and pay him a bit more the following season. Ie a half a mil to 1 mil in 2023 and 2.5-3 mil in 2024
Has to be more than a half mil. Minimum ML salary was 700K for 2022..
He’s a lefty. If he is breathing, someone will sign him.
Man what a blow. I love matzek. Hoping for the best for ya Tyler.
Acuna playing bad baseball again. Not backing up the centerfielder earlier resulting in a inside the park home run. Letting a ball drop in between him and Harris he should’ve caught then bobbling a ball in the 6th inning. Hopefully Snitker gives him a earful. Looks like Eric Young Sr said something.